Help - something killing my babies..

[Kat]

I had 40+ baby chickens in an outside pen and something started killing them one at a time - then last week the dogs went crazy about 4am. I went to the cage and found all the birds dead - only a few were eaten, the rest just killed. I set the trap for a couple days and finally (not caught in the trap) inside the cage the dogs had an oppossum with plenty of babies in its pouch. Everyone said that an oppossum would not kill them all so I continued to set the trap with no results. This morning I went inside the barn to a cage with my turkey babies - about 3ft legs off the ground with small mesh wire covering the cage - one turkey dead - the legs were chewed off - one turkey with bite marks on its side and the rest of the group piled on top of one another in fear. I assume that since it chewed the legs off it was hanging under the cage or on the side where they were piled up next to. Please help me figure out what predator I may have and how I can possibly get rid of it. I run a turkey business www.bourbonredturkey.com and cannot afford to lose any more of my babies. I have gone the predator diagnosis, but it did not help in this situation. Help!

[waterpossum]

did you let the possum go? possums are really bad! i/m not sure which is worse ...fox or possum. the momma probably killed all the babies and tried to kill the other turkeys too. dispose of all possums. if you don/t want to kill it haul it off somewhere far away which means it could kill somebody elses chickens too

[Wisconsin Ann]

Possum or coon. Possibly rats, but I would think you'd know about rats before you lost a turkey. You really need to do some predator proofing there. Where there's ONE possum, there are more...and once they find caged food, they come back.

Any way you can put one of the dogs outside in the barn at night? That will likely deter the critters. Live traps baited with marshmallows or fruit pieces will catch coons...dunno about possums.

Maybe put a fence around the area the birds are in at night?

[Danaus29]

Mink. Mom lost 40 full grown hens in one night because of a mink. Left them laying all over the barn, uneaten but dead. It also climbed to the top of a rabbit cage, also 3 feet off the floor, crawled in through the feeder, and killed the rabbit and ate it's head. Pop set traps and caught 2 mink and an old cat. I think the mink are still in the freezer. I'll have to ask him what he used for bait but I know the traps were snare traps and not live traps.

[Kat]

Yes, momma possum & all babies disposed of - permanently! Everything killed so far has been only about a month or two old - babies! The one last night was in a cage up off the ground with 1/2" square mesh wire around the whole cage - it did not get in the cage - just ate the legs off the baby turkey through the cage.

[Otter]

Possums and coons will both do that. Fruit pieces will sometimes catch possums. They also like tuna (but then you'll be trapping all your barn cats too)
Coons are easy to trap with marshmallow. Possums are kind of lazy. Since it's raiding your barn, it's likely living very near or in your barn. Clear out any place it can hide.

[tinman1]

Try apples... make sure you mash some on the trip pan..put one or two pieces as freebies, then 4 or 5 pieces past trip pan ...you should catch coons or possums this way...If they dont get caught the first night, put fresh apples in the next night, and try again..Ron

[Jennifer L.]

Weasel will kill with abandon and eat only a few or none at all. They are small and can get through small holes. You need to make sure the pens the birds are in cannot be gotten through. Once the birds are roosting well off of the ground (6-8 feet), then they are usually ok from weasels and their cousins, the mink. Skunks are also of the weasel family but I've never seen them go wild with blood lust the way minks or weasels will.

I'm sorry you lost the chickens. I had a weasel attack a few weeks ago that devastated my early hatches.

Jennifer

[Kat]

Should I use fruit or meat? Don't know what the predator is, so wouldn't meat (tuna) be something that would be more enticing? I am just want whatever it is gone!! Am getting nervous as evening approaches...

[Danaus29]

Tuna would be more enticing to whatever is after your birds. It also attracts cats and may bring critters in that weren't there before.

If you are using a live trap you need to set it up so a coon can't just pull the trap over and get the bait. I like to set mine in a corner with a couple cinder blocks beside the trap and one on top but resting on the block beside it. Don't put a lot of tuna in the trap, just a little bit and some of the juice. Put the bait behind the trip pan, away from the opening and as far to the back as you can. Set the trip lever so it's just at the very edge of the catch. Make sure the pan will drop if stepped on lightly. If you have dirt or sticks between the pan and the bottom of the trap it won't spring and close the door.

[cowcreekgeeks]

I like to put the bait UNDER the trap. I put a little inside just past the trip lever. That way they work on getting the bait through the trap and boing! catch 'em!!! Honey buns work well for coons.

[Kat]

When I got home last evening the little baby turkey that had been injured the previous night was dead, therefore, bait for the night. I placed the trap right on top of the cage with my turkey babies and YEA!!!!!! this morning it had an occupant - a raccoon!! I am still going to set the trap because within a week's time I have got a possum and a coon! Who knows (hopefully nothing else) what is out there. Thank you all for your encouragement and advice - tonight it will be tuna!

[Danaus29]

Where you have one coon you will have more. I trapped and shot 5 last year, 3 this year, and still have a couple that are causing problems.

Good luck with your trapping.

[tab]

I agree with the idea of more coons being around. Was it a male or female?

[Kat]

I think it was a female, no additional parts - never sexed a raccoon before - very puffy in the belly - may have also been pregnant. Definitely will continue to set the trap. For now I don't have any barn cats, so I will continue to set the trap inside the barn. Good idea, Danaus29, about the cinder blocks. Last week, before I caught the possum, it had knocked the trap over and tripped the trap. The morning I got the possum, same thing, but since it was inside my cage and the dogs were running around, it couldn't get away. Funny thing about this morning with the raccoon in the trap - I had a very heavy horseshoe holding down the cover on top of the cage. I placed the trap on top of the cage (and on top of the horseshoe). When I found the raccoon in the trap, it had the horseshoe inside with it - Haven't figured that one out ??? And it is just a small trap -

[tab]

I think they have had there babies by now and I am farther north than you. I do know (ask me how) that little ones stay in the nest for about 8 weeks. Then they may start wandering a little bit with mom. You might want to keep your ears open for noises. The kits (?), if there are any, might be holed up some place close by.

They are devilish critters. They are really kind of cool to watch if they aren't eating your livestock, ruining your roof, nesting in your chimney or crawling into your attic.....

[WstTxLady]

it could be skunk(which are bad about killing, they are brain eaters) or opossums, coons, fox, feral cat...either way it keeps coming back & i hope you have luck in catching it fast

[springledge]

We are having an all out war with coons this year! We are tearing off an addition that was on our house so the eve is open. Coons have invaded our attic! They came down into my canning kitchen and practically destroyed it!

One stayed outside, I guess, and killed three of my younger chickens...through the wire! This is 1X2 welded wire! It bit their heads off! I got a trap and caught the one outside that killed the chickens and so far 2 from my kitchen! One is sitting in the trap right now waiting for my husband to wake up and "tend to things" [strongbad

The lights started blinking in the house night before last and I had to get up in the middle of the night and turn off the breakers. While I was trying to get to the breaker box, I was confronted with a coon in the kitchen! He was growling at me and barking like a dog! He is now in the trap! I spent yesterday running new wiring! I think I will shoot this one myself!

[Kat]

Haven't had any news since I caught the coon THEN the other day - down at the big house where I keep my adult turkeys, one of the hens had scrapes on her back and a slice on her leg - I'm guessing she was in the next box and whatever it was was scratching to get at her. SO once again set the trap - the "whatever" tripped it, knocked it over and at the food underneath. Last night I secured the trap and put a concrete block on top - it never got to the food, did knock the block off and guess what it was? Not what was scratching at my hen 'cause it would have eater her - it was a coyote! Left a nice size paw print. Anyway, since my Great pyr had been ill and then died last week of a spinal tumor, I think all the predators know he's gone! My Catahoula is the biggest weenie! He stays in his doghouse (he's free to run) and when he hears something - he stands on the porch and barks! Badger, my pyr, would have chased anything away. I really miss him! Now I need a bunch of traps, different sizes